


the art of being alone

by dafirenze



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 05:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6502690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dafirenze/pseuds/dafirenze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, Leonardo was convinced that the only reason he and Ezio were friends was because they were both Italian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the art of being alone

**Author's Note:**

> just a lil au i've had sitting in my computer for a while.

When Leonardo’s estranged father came back to Anchiano only to announce that he was moving to the United States, and that Leonardo was coming with him “ _whether he likes it or not_ ”, Leonardo had been devastated.

Mainly because his father had made basically no effort in the first few years of his life, he had very little claim to exercise his rights as a father now; and secondly, Leonardo loved Italy. He loved his tiny town with its vineyards and olive groves, bordered by the Tuscan hills that had always made him feel safe. What would he have in America?

Still, Piero would not be swayed. Every visit he paid up until the fateful day was filled with hazy eyed promises about opportunity and new beginnings. During these visits, Leonardo’s mother tended to vanish, leaving Leonardo alone in their tiny village home, which suddenly felt a lot colder, and a lot more foreign. His father often felt like a virus, coming in uninvited and infecting their lives with something unwelcome and dangerous.

“Leonardo,” Piero said in a voice that was exclusively reserved for when he knew he was screwing up. It was the same voice he used in every single explanation for the past thirteen years as to why he wouldn’t be able to make Leonardo’s birthday. “This is going to be good for us. When I first told your mother of this idea, she was sceptical too, but even she knows that you are the kind of child that needs to be extended beyond this tiny place.”

So Piero had finally worked out that Leonardo was intelligent, and now he was interested in being a father. Typical.

“I can’t leave mother behind.”

With a sigh, Piero stood. Leonardo had never really been in his father’s presence for so long, so it was the first time he noticed that they really looked nothing alike. Where Piero was solid and broad, with warm olive skin that shone under sun, Leonardo was the opposite. He was tall, but in a way that was willowy not strong; and he was fair – in every sense of the word. His hair was a dirty blonde and his eyes were a warm brown, skin light and freckled. He was much like his mother, and neither of them looked like they belonged at the side of someone like Piero.

“I must be honest with you, Leonardo. I have never had much of a chance to be a father to you. Much of that is due to the fact that I am a busy man. First and foremost, I must run my business. It may seem harsh that I place that above you, but sacrifices must be made. But I am also not blind, I know I must honour my commitments. For the first thirteen years of your life, I have been all but absent. If I leave now without you, the chances are that you may never see me again, and that is not only brutally unfair to your mother, but unfair to you. The next five years until you are an adult are the least I can do to put in my share.”

There were a lot of things Leonardo wanted to say to that, the first being ‘don’t pretend that this is about your honour and nobility, this is about you having an heir to your stupid company’, but he held his tongue.

“And my mother has agreed to it?”

Piero nodded.

As much as he found it hard to believe, Leonardo forced a smile. “Then I would love to go to New York.”

-

“Leonardo, come here, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Following the sound of his father’s voice to the front door, Leonardo raised an eyebrow at the guest. Since they had arrived, his father had only introduced him to one other person, a tutor who called himself Verrocchio and promised that Leonardo would feel ‘right at home’ after a few weeks. The woman standing in the doorway definitely wasn’t Verrocchio.

For one, she was incredibly beautiful in a regal kind of way which made it seem like she belonged to some majestic era of history, like the renaissance, rather than on their doorstep. Secondly, she didn’t have the same intrusive nature as everyone else that had walked through the door, whether Leonardo was introduced to them or not. Instead, she seemed like she belonged, like she could walk anywhere in the entire world and still look like a natural fit wherever she was.

“This is Maria Auditore,” Piero said warmly – in English – his voice betraying just how highly he thought of their guest. “She’s been a kind friend to our family back in Firenze.”

“Piacere di conoscerti, Leonardo. Your father has told me a lot about you,” Maria said with a soft smile, her voice every bit as cultured and regal as her appearance, even if her Italian accent had faded slightly. Leonardo wondered how long she had been in New York.

Leonardo shook Maria’s outstretched hand, captivated by her presence. “Piacere mio, signora.”

“I mustn’t stay long, signore Fruosino,” Maria said, placing a hand on Piero’s shoulder, “I simply wished to come by on my way out and see you after all these years, and to finally meet your son.” Turning to Leonardo, she smiled. “I am sure that you will meet my son, Ezio, before long. I was going to bring him with me today, but he is unfortunately far more interested in boyish pursuits. Sometimes I wonder if he is still ten years old. No doubt you will see each other at school, you are starting soon, yes?”

A fresh wave of horror that had been lying dormant washed over Leonardo at the word ‘school’. Typically, he would probably be the kind of kid to enjoy school; Leonardo had a kind of insatiable curiosity that typically vanished in childhood. But high school was something different to the concept of learning, and Leonardo was something different than most other teenagers.

Maria and Piero said their goodbyes, both completely oblivious to Leonardo, and it wasn’t until Maria was out the door that Leonardo turned to his father.

“When do I start school?”

Piero waved a hand dismissively. “Not for a few weeks. Do not worry, Verrocchio will teach you all that you need to know.”

With that, his father retreated back to his office, the place he had spent most of his time since they moved. Very rarely did he attend dinner, leaving Leonardo on his own with an uncle and grandfather he barely knew. More often than not, Leonardo would excuse himself early and wait in his room until enough time had passed for him to steal something from the kitchen without anyone around. Their kitchen staff turned a blind eye to him like most of the other people in the house. Leonardo sometimes felt more like a ghost than he did a human being.

-

“You’re Piero Fruosino’s kid, right?”

Leonardo looked up to see Ezio Auditore standing in front of his desk. Or at least, that’s what Leonardo assumed from the teen’s striking resemblance to Maria, and the faint Italian accent that could only come from being surrounded by an Italian family daily.

At a glance, it was easy to tell that the Auditore family had been blessed by something divine. Like Maria’s natural elegance, Ezio had a kind of attractiveness that came from his relaxed state of confidence. A natural kind of beauty that should not manifest in fourteen year old boys.

“Yeah, are you Ezio?”

With a nod, Ezio slipped into the seat beside Leonardo. “May as well get used to each other. I had Mr Rogers last year, I don’t know if he’s actually racist or not, but he likes to put all the ethnic kids together on group projects, and he usually doesn’t even know the difference. Last year, I spent the whole year with Nicole, and she’s Hispanic.”

Leonardo laughed. “And you think that by sitting next to me, he’ll realise that you’re Italian?”

“Worth a shot.”

-

It didn’t take very long for Leonardo to fit in to an easy kind of routine with Ezio. His friends were easy enough to get along with due to the fact that, even as much at Ezio liked to claim that he wasn’t “stereotypical like his parents”, most of his friends were Italian. And being around Ezio was a constant reassurance that he wasn’t going to be kicked to the side and ignored for the majority of the year.

When he thought about it, it was actually remarkable the way he and Ezio had clicked so quickly, no matter how completely different they were. Before long, Leonardo found himself invited to Ezio’s home on an almost constant basis. To begin with, it was so that they could work together on school projects, since Ezio’s prediction that they would be paired together on every assignment rang true, but it eventually became something else. One day it was because “it’s too fucking hot to function, and we have a pool” or “Federico got this new rocket thing and we’re gonna test it out, but he’s shit at building stuff and we need your help”. It took him a while, but eventually Leonardo realised that Ezio was quickly becoming his best friend.

-

"Wait, not even once?" Ezio asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not even after Lucy's Halloween party when even Desmond got-"

"No," Leonardo interrupted, refusing to look Ezio in the eye.

Ezio frowned. Sure, they were only sixteen and Leonardo was far too invested in school to ever be interested in sucking face; but these would only be valid excuses if Leonardo didn't look the way he did. Ezio wasn't above admitting that his friend was attractive. Obviously not as attractive as him or Altaïr, but in a different way. A trustworthy way.

"But you've wanted to, right?" Ezio pressed, a smirk on his lips.

"I don't know, Ezio," Leonardo sighed, not even turning his head away from his work.

"Not even Cristina?"

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "She's your crush, not mine."

Ezio considered for a moment, studying the cracks in the ceiling carefully before he spoke. "But you do have a crush?"

"I never said that."

"But you're not denying it either."

"Are you going to help me with this project, or did you just invite me over to make me do all the work while you quiz me on my love life?" Leonardo snapped.

There was a beat of silence in which Ezio had no idea how to respond, before he pushed himself off of the bed and joined Leonardo at his desk. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"

Leonardo sighed again, obviously looking for some menial job before giving up. "Nothing. You're awful at group work and you just end up being a pain. You can lie back down, but just be quiet."

Grinning at Leonardo's defeated voice, Ezio flopped back down on the bed. His resolve to stay silent, however, lasted a full two minutes before he was back in full swing.

"Really though, it isn't even that big of a deal. I'm sure you would get any girl in our school easily if you tried, I'm pretty sure my sister still has a crush on you, which - by the way - I am in no way condoning because that would be gross and weird and honestly, it's Claudia, could you imagine how awful-"

"Ezio!" Leonardo gestured wildly to the desk. "What did we just discuss?"

Ezio raised his hands. "Look man, I just can't believe that you're sixteen and never been kissed."

That obviously hit a nerve, because Leonardo threw down his pen. He whipped around on Ezio, "maybe I don't want to be kissed."

"You're scared."

Leonardo's eyes narrowed, and Ezio jumped to defend himself before he was killed on the spot. He could almost read the headlines: 'Teenager found dead because he teased friend about being a kissing virgin.'

"It's okay, I was scared the first time too." Granted, Ezio had been eight and Claudia's surprisingly aggressive friends had tied him up and covered him in makeup.

"I'm not scared," Leonardo sneered, but his voice had lost its venom. "I just wouldn't be any good at it. I don't see the appeal."

Ezio frowned at the ceiling again. Of course Leonardo would be concerned about his performance. A perfectionist, he wouldn't be satisfied unless he was the best.

"There's not much to it."

Leonardo scoffed and turned back around.

Before Ezio had filtered any kind of rational thought through his head, his mouth was moving again. "Do you want to practice?"

Leonardo went very still. "What?"

"Look, it doesn't mean anything, it's just me trying to help you out. I've kissed a lot of people, I'm basically an expert," Ezio added with a smirk.

Leonardo turned around to stare at him, his eyebrows pulled together. "Are you serious?"

Rolling his eyes, Ezio sat up. "Look, it was just a suggestion," he didn't know why he was getting so defensive or angry, but there was something about the horror on Leonardo's face that made him mad. "If you want your first kiss to be a fumbling mess with someone you actually might want to have a shot with, then fine, be my guest. But if you want to know what you're doing-"

"Okay."

Ezio stopped, blinking. "Okay."

Leonardo stood, the very picture of nonchalance, and sat next to Ezio on the bed. "What do I do?"

"Okay," Ezio tried to clear his head, focusing on his own experiences, what could help Leonardo. "When you're about to kiss someone, there's probably some kind of lead up, like you've both been flirting or she's holding your hand or something, so you want to start by, like," Ezio put a hand on the side of Leonardo's face. It was bizarre, the blunt feeling of the slight amount of stubble on his skin.

Unconsciously, Ezio leaned his face in towards Leonardo's, who was staring at him with a look of deep concentration. "It works best if you lean in too," he mumbled.

Leonardo jumped to action, thrusting his head forward and hitting their mouths together with a surprising amount of force.

"Ow, fuck!" Ezio cried, jumping back when their teeth smacked together.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Leonardo reached a hand out, cupping Ezio behind his neck and tilting his head up to examine his teeth.

Pushing him away, Ezio laughed, breaking the tension for a small moment. "I'm fine, but if you had done that with a girl you really liked, you really would have screwed it up."

Leonardo sighed heavily, his hand still resting on Ezio's neck. "Shit."

"Try again," Ezio said softly, placing his hand back against Leonardo's cheek. "Slowly."

This time, Leonardo's lips met his softly, tentatively. It barely lasted a second before he pulled away again, his eyes raking over Ezio's face for signs of damage.

"Is that all?" Ezio asked quietly.

Something in Leonardo's face twitched, and then he was kissing him again, the hand against Ezio's neck moving up to run through the base of his hair. Ezio relaxed against him, opening his mouth lazily and letting Leonardo take his bottom lip between his teeth. Ezio's hand dropped from Leonardo's cheek to curl into his shirt, holding him close. It was odd, the way Leonardo's mouth felt against his, warm and solid, not soft like the lips of other girls he had kissed.

Like he did with everything else, Leonardo learnt fast when it came to kissing. The hand that wasn’t curled up in Ezio’s hair was on his waist, pulling him closer till Ezio was almost on his friend’s lap. Ezio barely had time to consider what they were doing, the small voice at the back of his head which had been previously crying out a warning was gone, shocked into silence by what Leonardo could do with his teeth.

After a few more moments, Leonardo pulled away, Ezio moving with him, trying to chase the kiss back.

"Like that?" Leonardo breathed, his voice ragged.

Swallowing hard, Ezio nodded. "You've got it." He unclenched his fist from Leonardo's shirt, searching desperately for something to break the awkward silence.

“I’ve got to, I mean, I better,” Leonardo fumbled for words as he stood up, “my dad, he’s expecting me back, I should-”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s cool,” Ezio nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

As he grabbed his jacket, Leonardo turned back, smiling softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

-

Over the summer, Ezio dated a girl called Rosa, and Leonardo painted. It was a successful time for the both of them. While Ezio was enjoying his last carefree summer by spending as much time with Rosa as he could, Leonardo was meeting several different potential sponsors for his studies. Along with the many different scholarships Leonardo was planning to apply for in the upcoming year, it seemed as though he was going to be able to get a full ride to any college of his choice. Still, he couldn't shake the awful feeling that he was missing out on something glorious.

"I'm telling you, most beautiful woman I have ever seen," Ezio was lying across his bed while Leonardo sat on his small couch, flicking absently through the channels on Ezio's shitty television. They had both managed to put away several drinks between them, but Leonardo still didn’t feel anything more than lightly buzzed. Ezio, not so much.

"She's seventeen, Ezio, hardly what I would call a woman."

"She's eighteen in a week, and she's still more woman than many others," Ezio said happily, drunk on his own joy. And the alcohol. Mostly the alcohol.

"I'm happy for you," Leonardo smiled, his channel surfing paused on a particularly tragic infomercial involving a white family and a blender.

Ezio rolled on to his stomach, frowning at Leonardo. "You're making fun of me."

Glancing over his shoulder, Leonardo raised an eyebrow. "When am I not?"

Though he had to say, there was a small ache at the bottom of his stomach that arose specifically when Ezio spoke about Rosa. When he told Leonardo about the way she kissed, the way her laugh sounded, how it felt when they-

Well, there were some things that just didn't bear thinking about.

"When are you getting a girlfriend?" Ezio asked, rolling onto his back again, tapping furiously at his phone - no doubt in an incredibly important conversation with Rosa.

Leonardo didn’t answer. Instead, he flicked away from the infomercial and onto some sitcom rerun. “Do you know what college you’re going to yet?”

If Ezio noticed how blunt the change of subject was, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he shrugged noncommittally. “I don’t know, probably the same one Federico went to.”

“Federico went to Yale.”

Ezio looked up from his phone. “Oh. Then no, I probably won’t go to the same college as Federico.”

Leonardo laughed. “C’mon, don’t you have any idea what you want to do with your life?”

“Dad wants me to take over the business, since he thinks Federico is too irresponsible.”

As much as he wanted to, Leonardo didn’t point out the fact that Ezio was just as, if not more irresponsible than his older brother.

“Why,” Ezio asked, finally dropping the phone and committing himself to the conversation. “Are you worried about college?”

Leonardo paused. It wasn’t as though he was afraid he wouldn’t get into the ‘college of his dreams’, it was more the fact that he didn’t know which college that was. And now that he really thought about it, the idea that him and Ezio could end up several states apart didn’t sit too well with him either. The idea had always been there, an unwelcome presence in the back of his head, telling him that if Ezio didn’t go to the same college as him, he would move on; find new, better friends.

“Everyone’s worried about college,” Leonardo mumbled, flicking the TV to a basketball game.

Before he even opened his mouth, Leonardo knew exactly what Ezio was going to say. “Not me, I don’t see the point in being worried. Federico said it’s a thousand times better than high school, and do you know what college has that high school doesn’t?”

“The lack of forced social interaction with teenagers that are mentally five years old?”

“College girls.”

Leonardo frowned. “You have a girlfriend.”

Ezio went quiet for a second before sighing. “Everything changes once you go to college. High school relationships aren’t supposed to be forever, they’re supposed to be short and fun.”

Leonardo’s frown only deepened. “Then why bother? If you know it isn’t going to last, and it doesn’t mean anything, why bother in the first place?”

“Because it’s fun!” Ezio said, exasperated. “No one has a relationship in high school with the intention of marrying them.”

“Didn’t your parents start dating in high school?”

“Yeah, but my parents went to high school in Italy.”

“What does that even mean?”

Ezio shook his head. “You’re missing the point. Loving people doesn’t always have to be something serious. I don’t get why people are so hung up on this idea that you can only love one person, or that love is something that you won’t understand until your older. Everyone acts like it’s some big grand gesture to tell someone you love them, but why? Why is it such a bizarre thing to love people easily?”

For a moment, Leonardo was shocked into silence. It wasn’t as though he was under the impression that Ezio was an idiot, in fact, he was well aware that his friend was far more intelligent than he let on. He just wasn’t expecting something so profound from Ezio while he was half drunk and lamenting college girls.

“So have you told Rosa that you love her?” Leonardo asked quietly, after the silence had stretched on long enough.

Ezio shook his head. “Just because I don’t think that love is something to be hidden away and kept quiet until you’re old, doesn’t mean that everyone feels the same way.”

-

There was a dull throbbing in the back of Leonardo’s head that was almost identical to the stinging feeling underneath his eyes. He was sure that if he were to look at his torso, all he would see was mottled purple and red splotches mixed with the dried blood from his nose which seeped into his shirt. Speaking of, his nose burned in such a way that Leonardo was convinced it would never look right again.

“Leonardo?”

A sigh of relief escaped his split lips when he heard Ezio’s familiar voice.

“Leonardo!”

Leonardo felt Ezio crouch down next to him, blearily opening his eyes to see concern and anger etched all over Ezio’s face.

“You got my text,” he mumbled weakly, letting his head loll back against the brick wall he leant on.

Ezio cupped Leonardo’s face, tilting it towards the light of the streetlamps to take in the damage. In an understandable moment of weakness, Leonardo allowed himself to sink into the soft touch, allowed himself a moment to feel safe, with Ezio’s thumbs moving in soft, subconscious circles against his cheeks. Instead of pain, a warm ache filled Leonardo’s chest, a soft kick in the chest that he hadn’t felt since their kiss. _Oh. This is what it feels like to fall for someone_.

“Who did this to you?” Ezio asked in an angry, broken voice.

Usually, it wasn’t bad enough that he would ask for help. Usually it was just one or two of the kids from school who would just happen to catch Leonardo on his way back from school or Verrocchio’s, he hadn’t ever been caught by a whole group before. And it wasn’t necessarily the same people every time.

“I don’t know who they were,” Leonardo said softly, wincing when Ezio brushed his fingers against the still tender skin of his nose.

It wasn’t an entire lie, Leonardo didn’t know the names of those who attacked him, but he knew who sent them. Vieri de’ Pazzi, some asshole Ezio claimed had hated him ever since they knew each other. At first, Leonardo thought that Ezio was just being dramatic – no high school student had an honest-to-God nemesis – but it had become increasingly obvious that the entirety of the Pazzi family had some kind of rivalry with the Auditore family, which did nothing to help the fact that the Italians in their area already had stereotypical rumours pinned to them. Leonardo couldn’t count the number of times he had been asked if he was in the mafia.

“It was Vieri, wasn’t it?” Ezio demanded, helping Leonardo to his feet. “ _Figlio di puttana_ , how many times has this happened, Leonardo?”

With an indignant huff, Leonardo shook Ezio away. “What makes you so sure that this is a regular occurrence?”

Ignoring his annoyed expression, Ezio wrapped an arm around Leonardo’s waist, supporting most of his weight as they hobbled towards Ezio’s car. It was only once they were both safely on route to the Auditore home that Ezio broke the silence.

“How many times has this happened?”

Leonardo leant his head back against the headrest. “I can take care of myself, stop treating me like a child.”

“You don’t get it, Leonardo, this isn’t just about you,” Ezio’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his expression dark, the only thing keeping Leonardo from biting back. “I wasn’t gonna tell you, because it wasn’t really important for you to know, but the shit between me and Vieri is a lot more than stupid teenage shit. There was this case a few months ago where my dad had to give evidence against Vieri’s family, and a whole lot of stuff has happened because of it. I can handle it, because I’ve got my family who know, and who can help me when I need it, but if you don’t tell anyone, then how are we supposed to help you?”

The news was new to him, but Leonardo was still too angry to grace Ezio with a response. He wasn’t even entirely sure what had upset him so much, maybe it was the fact that even at his most angry, most desperate, Ezio could still be so soft and gentle and _kind_ , and he didn’t even realise the effect he had. He could walk into Leonardo’s life, be tender and caring, and then step back unaffected, taking Leonardo’s heart away with him.

“Why aren’t you taking this seriously?” Ezio demanded.

“Because I’m fucking used to it, Ezio,” Leonardo snapped. “To be brutally honest with you, your little feud with Vieri means jack shit to me. Everything is always about you, you can’t imagine for one second that I might have my own shit to deal with that is completely separate from you.”

Ezio blinked, finally shocked into silence. They drove in the quiet for a moment before he said anything.

“Leonardo, is there something going on?”

Shaking his head, Leonardo smiled thinly. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just tired.”

The lights in Leonardo’s home were off when they pulled up, unsurprisingly. Leonardo wondered if his father had even noticed his absence.

“Thanks,” he said stiffly, moving to get out of the car, before Ezio grabbed his wrist.

“Leonardo, I worry about you, okay? I’m not saying stuff like that to be a dick, or to be selfish, I say it because I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Leonardo looked over at Ezio’s face, his best friend, so open with his concern and care. It was a miracle he hadn’t lost that occasional softness yet, that he had never had it beat out of him by the school system. It was a rare thing for a teenage boy to be so kind and good.

“I’ll be fine, Ezio,” Leonardo said softly.

Before he was fully aware of what was happening, Ezio leant in, pressing their foreheads together briefly. He was gone as quick as he had come, letting go of Leonardo’s wrist and placing both of his hands back on the wheel.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ezio said with a small smile as Leonardo opened the door.

“Of course.”

-

"I broke up with Rosa," Ezio said, surprisingly clear considering how much he had drunk.

From his spot leaning against the wall, trying his very best not to throw up, Leonardo gave Ezio a weak thumbs up. "Happy for you."

"Are you, are you even listening to me?"

"One second," Leonardo held up a hand while his body heaved, the world tilting dramatically for a moment until the urge to empty the contents of his stomach on to the Auditore's front lawn was gone.

"You're ridiculous," Ezio grumbled fondly, moving to pat Leonardo on the back, "how much did you have to drink? I bet it wasn't even that much."

That wasn't true, Leonardo was sure that there were several shots and quite possibly a funnel involved. And if it was anyone's fault, it was Claudia's. Claudia and her untrustworthy 'cocktails' which she promised were more pineapple juice than alcohol, but Leonardo was becoming convinced that Claudia was actually a dangerous liar who was not to be believed under any circumstances.

"Your fault," Leonardo protested weakly, slumping against Ezio, "you went off to," he waved his hands vaguely until he found the words, "make out with someone, and left me with Claudia and people I, I don't know."

Through the spinning in his head, Leonardo was sure he saw Ezio's eyebrows draw together in anger. He couldn't deal with an angry Ezio at this point, he could barely deal with an angry Ezio when he was sober, mainly due to the fact that Ezio had a volatile nature when angry and it was impossible to predict what stupid thing he would do without thinking about it first.

"I didn't go make out with anyone, I went to break up with Rosa," Ezio said quietly, not even complaining about having to support Leonardo's drunken weight.

"It took you a long time," Leonardo insisted, narrowing his eyes, "are you sure you didn't make out with her just a little bit?"

Despite the angriness of his eyebrows, Ezio chuckled slightly. "We had a good talk."

"Talk?"

"It was a pretty mutual thing, she still wants to be friends."

Leonardo hummed, which probably appeared thoughtful and reinforced his genius nature, but really it was because he was afraid that if he kept talking he would either throw up all over Ezio, or kiss him. He couldn't work out which was worse.

"You look constipated, what are you doing?"

Ah, maybe the humming and narrowed eyes paired with the state Leonardo was in wasn't exactly selling the whole genius thing. He fixed Ezio with a very serious look. Well, he tried, there was trying involved.

"Oh my God, you really are wasted aren't you?" Ezio said, growing angry again. "You haven't even asked the most normal question that best friends should ask."

"Did you use protection?"

"I did not have sex with her! We broke up! God, do you not even want to know why?"

Things were starting to slot in to place a lot easier now. Ezio had something he wanted to tell him, something that had to do with him breaking up with someone who made Ezio, quite possibly, the happiest Leonardo had ever seen him.

"I understand now," Leonardo mumbled, starting to sober up, or at least trying to.

"You do?"

Leonardo nodded, wondering the best way to approach the situation while still desperately wishing the ground would stop swaying. "You want someone else, don't you?"

Ezio blew a breath out like he was deflating, and he lent beside Leonardo on the wall, tipping his head back and facing up at the stars. "Yeah."

Leonardo nodded again, wondering how many times he could do it before he lost his credibility. "I guess no one really gets over their first crush."

Ezio looked over at him, an unreadable expression on his face. "You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?" Leonardo frowned, looking away from Ezio's face and down at his hands, which were twisting anxiously of their own accord. "Cristina's a nice girl, I'm sure-"

"Cristina?" Ezio nearly yelled. "You think I'm talking about Cristina?"

Blinking, Leonardo looked back up at Ezio, who looked horrified. "You're not?"

For a moment, Ezio looked as though he wanted to punch Leonardo in the face. That was until he pulled him in by the shirt, a quiet "fuck it" mumbled under his breath before Leonardo's lips were being crushed by his.

It took Leonardo's brain a few moments to catch up with what was happening, and by the time he thought to kiss Ezio back, he was pulling away. Clumsily, Leonardo tried to hold Ezio's face close, to chase back the warmth of his body close to his, but Ezio was stepping back.

"I shouldn't have done that."

The words caught Leonardo like a kick to the stomach. He took a step in closer to Ezio, trying very hard to focus on the dull rage burning in his head and not at his friend's lips.

"Fuck you, Ezio," he said quietly, far calmer than he felt.

There was no way Leonardo knew the way back to his own house from the Auditore mansion, but he couldn't stay there. Leaving Ezio standing with a shell shocked expression, he walked back in to the house, glancing around wildly. He found Malik standing by the speakers, trying to coax a very drunk Altaïr back on to his feet.

Malik raised his head, smiling warmly when he saw Leonardo.

"Thank God, please say you have some kind of desperate emergency that needs my undivided attention right now."

Despite everything, Leonardo found himself smiling softly. "Have you had anything to drink?"

Malik shook his head, and then raised an eyebrow at his tragic boyfriend. "Some of us don't need to comatose in order to have a good time."

Altaïr didn't even have to sobriety to act offended.

"Good," Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief. "Could you take me home?"

The expression on Malik's face immediately softened into one of concern. In that moment, Leonardo was so grateful for him, for the fact that Ezio's stupid cousin had managed to find someone who tried his best to hold together a fractured family he wasn't even officially a part of.

"C'mon babe," Malik murmured to Altaïr, who was thoroughly trashed. "Time to go."

Altaïr didn't respond as Malik hauled him to his feet, slinging an arm over his shoulder, but he did react when he finally noticed Leonardo.

"Kid!" he yelled at a volume entirely inappropriate for someone standing two feet in front of him. "Have you seen Ezio yet? He's looking for you."

How Altaïr had managed to remember that message was far beyond Leonardo, who was still pretty tipsy, but it made him wince. He would really rather bleach his mind with another one of Claudia's drinks before having to think about Ezio at this point.

"Time for the car," Malik announced pleasantly, leading Altaïr out the front door before he tried to thank Ezio's mother in a way that would have been embarrassing for everyone involved.

A few minutes later, with Altaïr safely restrained and snoring softly in the back of Malik's car, Leonardo finally let himself breathe.

"Rough night?" Malik asked, not pushing any further for specifics when Leonardo nodded.

If there was anyone Leonardo trusted enough to tell, it was Malik. While he and Altaïr had only been officially dating for a year, everyone had known that they had a thing far before that. Leonardo could only vaguely remember the two of them in high school, both of them three years above him, but ever since Malik had become a more or less permanent attachment to Altaïr (who, by extension, was a permanent attachment to the Auditore family), Leonardo had found himself talking to Malik whenever Ezio was off doing chores for his mother or calling Rosa. It had surprised him how similar they were, despite the age difference, and Malik's stories of both his childhood in Syria and his more recent stories about college. And the thing that brought them closer, their biggest similarity, was their saint-like patience when it came to the Auditore/Ibn-La'Ahad family.

"It's just Ezio."

Malik nodded knowingly, but Leonardo wondered how much he actually had worked out. "What's he done this time?"

Looking out the window at the streetlights, Leonardo just shrugged. "He just doesn't understand anything."

"It runs in the family," Malik joked, pausing for a moment when he realised that Leonardo wasn't really in the mood. "Do you want to know how long I liked Altaïr before I asked him out?" Malik asked tentatively, as if he was afraid how Leonardo would react.

Leonardo stiffened, because now it had become clear that Malik knew exactly what was going on with him and Ezio. Or, at least, with him.

"How long?" Leonardo asked softly.

"Three years. We were in our last year of high school and he was still the same annoying prick he had been since we started. We were all receiving our college acceptance letters when he thrust his in front of my face with a stupid grin on his face, and announced that I was going to be stuck with him for a long time. When I did finally get my shit together and ask him on a date, he told me that he had been waiting for me to ask since we started college."

"That great for you two," Leonardo said, "but anyone with eyes could see that there was something going on between the both of you."

Raising an eyebrow, Malik indicated left, pulling in to Leonardo's street. "Do you really think that your situation is so different?"

They sat in silence until they reached Leonardo's driveway, the quiet only being interrupted occasionally by Altaïr's irregular snores.

"Just think about it," Malik said as Leonardo got out of his car. "I promise you that, whatever happened, it's not going to be as bad as whatever scenario you're imagining right now."

-

 _Text received at 12:23 AM from [lasagne boy]:_ wwhere did u go??

 _12:28 AM:_ leonardo??

 _12:29 AM:_ im sorry

_Missed call at 12:34 AM from [lasagne boy]_

_12:37AM:_ plese dont do this

 _12:41 AM:_ leonado i miss u

 _12:43 AM:_ i didnt mean to make u mad

 _12:46 AM:_ im sory leonardo

_Missed call at 12:50 AM from [lasagne boy]_

_12:56 AM:_ just talk to me please

 _1:04 AM:_ did u take malik wih u????

 _1:05 AM:_ traitor

 _1:12 AM:_ ok but are u safe??

 _1:22 AM:_ tell me howt o fix this

_Missed call at 1:25 from [lasagne boy]_

_1:27 AM:_ listen leonardo im sorry ok i dont want to ruin anthing between us butwe need to talk aboit this

 _1:30 AM:_ i never wantd to hurt u

 _1:33 AM:_ do u hate me ???

 _1:34 AM:_ because if u do i undertsand i just want to say im sorry

 _1:38 AM:_ im sorru

 _1:39 AM:_ sorry

 _1:52 AM:_ ok ill stop now

 _1:53 AM:_ i still car eabout u tho

 _1:54 AM:_ goodnight leonardo

 _8:02 AM:_ Hey Leonardo, can you come over? I really need to talk to you.

-

Leonardo rolled over to check his phone, and berate whoever was waking him at eight in the morning with a raging hangover. What he wasn’t expecting was the three missed calls and twenty two unread messages from Ezio.

The memories from last night came rushing over him all at once. The party had been pretty huge, a way to celebrate the end of high school, one of the last times they would all see each other before they left for college. Leonardo had expected it to be worse, for him to get more upset about saying goodbye, but Ezio had promised him that they still had the whole summer, and even then, it wasn’t as though they wouldn’t see each other again. Defying all expectations, Ezio had gotten accepted to Harvard, while Leonardo had accepted a scholarship to MIT. The idea that they would both be barely ten minutes away from each other had initially been the reason Leonardo was so looking forward to leaving high school, but now, dread was pooling in his stomach.

Throwing off his covers, Leonardo drearily forced himself into the shower, the warm water relaxing him and helping him get his thoughts straight.

One, from what he remembered of last night, Ezio kissed him. Ezio was the one who initiated it, and he was also the one to end it. Judging by his immediate reaction, Ezio regretted it.

Two, Malik had driven him home, and probably given solid life advice that Leonardo couldn’t really remember.

Three, Ezio’s texts showed that he was sorry, that he didn’t mean it, that it was an accident. And that was probably the part that stung the most.

Leonardo forced himself out of the water with a heavy sigh. If he was being honest with himself, all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep until the whole thing blew over, until he felt as though he could breathe around Ezio without his chest feeling constricted and heavy.

It wasn’t as though he had planned on feeling any kind of way towards Ezio that wasn’t honest friendship, but it had happened somewhere along the way. Somewhere between Ezio’s constant idiotic efforts to get Leonardo to draw him, and then his soft loyalty and kindness had made Leonardo drop his defences, and now he was paying for it.

“Fuck you, Ezio,” Leonardo muttered, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.

-

When Ezio opened the door, Leonardo swallowed the urge to bolt in the opposite direction as fast as he could.

“Hey,” he said uncertainly, anything to fill the silence.

“Hey,” Ezio repeated, looking at Leonardo like he wanted to do the same thing.

Before the awkwardness could return, Leonardo started speaking as fast as he could. “Look, it’s okay! Everyone does things that they don’t mean when they’re drunk, and it’s not as though we haven’t- well I mean we’ve, done, _that_ before, so it doesn’t have to be weird! Not that I think it’s weird, I’m fine, and I’m sure that, well I mean, you’re fine too right? Anyway, I said things too! It’s cool, friends do stuff sometimes, it doesn’t have to _mean_ anything, you said yourself that there are lots of different kinds of love and like, it’s not like it’s like, _like_ , love, right?”

Ezio blinked, his face impassive. “Um, do you want to maybe, have this conversation in my room?”

Leonardo let out a heavy breath. “Yes, please.”

-

"You know you could have just told me," Ezio said quietly, the both of them sitting on Ezio’s couch.

"I could have, but that would have meant admitting it out loud, and I've never done that before," Leonardo said quietly, his eyes still closed.

"You've never told anyone?"

Leonardo shook his head. Who did he have to tell? His father was an obvious no, telling the few guys he had fooled around with was pretty redundant, telling any friend other than Ezio felt too heavy to tell anyone he wasn't that close with, and the only reason he hadn't told Ezio was because that would mean acknowledging the second big secret.

"You must have already known though," Leonardo muttered, "it's been a pretty well-known rumour around school for the past few years." That much was true. Whenever a kid in high school spent more time studying than he did making out with girls, the only logical conclusion was that he was gay, not that he just didn't find anyone attractive. In Leonardo's case, the gay part was true, but what annoyed him was the lack of evidence and the way it was intended to be an insult.

Ezio's silence only confirmed Leonardo's theory.

"It doesn't have to be a big thing Ezio, really," Leonardo said softly, still not looking over at him. "It doesn't change anything."

For a moment, neither of them moved, neither of them said a word. Leonardo had no idea what was left to say, and Ezio's silence was excruciating.

"Leonardo," Ezio mumbled after the silence had stretched on to a point where Leonardo had seriously considered jumping out of Ezio's window and running home, "this changes everything."

Before Leonardo had a chance to react, Ezio turned to face him, and trapped his face between his hands. In one movement, Ezio pulled Leonardo in and pressed their lips together softly, as though he was asking permission. Leonardo had been slow to react the last time they kissed, but now, he refused to mess up. He tilted his head slowly, their noses sliding against each other until their lips aligned perfectly. Ezio still kissed like he didn’t want to take control, like he was still teaching Leonardo to take what he wanted, and maybe that was his intention.

Leonardo opened his mouth softly, his hands flitting to Ezio’s waist. Leonardo could feel a cramp coming on in his neck, which should have ruined the mood, but it _didn’t_ because this was Ezio, and Leonardo was only just starting to realise that maybe Ezio was right about the whole ‘love’ thing. Sometimes, it did come easy and wonderful, and it wasn’t worth denying yourself the feeling of wanting someone so much.

In one movement, Ezio pulled himself closer so that he was sitting on Leonardo’s lap, his hands shifting to curl into Leonardo’s hair. It was soft and sweet, the way they moved so gently with each other, Leonardo had never expected it to be like this, with anyone. He had never expected the breathless, small noise Ezio made when Leonardo’s fingers ghosted over his ribs. He hadn’t expected Ezio to hold him so delicately, yet keep him from falling apart. He hadn’t expected Ezio to kiss him back, press his chest up against Leonardo’s, take his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Ti amo,” Leonardo said softly against Ezio’s lips, so softly it could almost have been missed. Almost.

Ezio pulled away for a moment, grey eyes searching Leonardo’s face for any sign of deception. “You mean it?”

Leonardo nodded.

With a grin, Ezio leaned in, kissing Leonardo softly on the hinge of his jaw. “Ti amo anch’io.”


End file.
